Minna Kantonen, Dafna Talmor and Emma Wieslander, with Minna Pöllänen creating a site-specific piece, have come together to create an exhibition that will challenge the traditional representation of landscape, called On Landscape #1. The show was exhibited from 7th-30th March 2014 at Guest Projects, Andrews Road, London.

Landscape is not a genre but a medium…[it is] a natural scene mediated by culture. It is both a represented and presented space, both a signifier and a signified, both a frame and what a frame contains…” – J.W.T. Mitchell, Landscape and Power. The artists have chosen to open their fundraising website (Crowdfunder) with a quote about what a landscape is, to entice the reader.

The exhibition was shown at Guest Projects, which was formulated by Shonibare Studio and gives artistic practitioners the chance to use the facility of a free project space for a month. The Arts Council funded this project and also received help from donators ‘pledging’ money.

The curators had the opportunity to do anything they wanted with this large empty white space. Tables and walls were built by themselves with help from local businesses and friends. They kept quite an industrial feel, which contrasted against the natural aura of the work.

An open call for self-published books (short run or hand-made), which related to the framework of the exhibition, formed a central aspect of the show. This provided “a platform for wider debates around landscape whilst presenting an opportunity for a range of practitioners to showcase their work.” Artlicks.com. Renowned names such as Miranda Gavin (editor of Hotshoe) and Bruno Cheschel were among several members of the selection panel.

Wish You Were Here by Emma Wieslander

Wish You Were Here by Emma Wieslander

Emma Wieslander’s “Wish You Were Here” presents images, which are so very deceiving at a first glance. Having been created upon the idea of illusion, they certainly live up to the concept. When looking in great deal, it becomes apparent that Wieslander has set up one light at different heights, and using just natural lighting has achieved the appearance of the glowing sun. These images are made enjoyable by the trickery within them; grabbing your attention and making you look in great detail.

Constructed Landscapes by Dafna Talmor

Possibly the most creative section of the show is a range of old negatives, which have been sliced and diced, before being layered together to create a ‘Constructed Landscape’. This work is based around manipulation and photography’s relationship to reality. Although the images are all created from something real, they are imaginary because they have been created and do not actually exist. This work can be seen as a metaphor, representing how land and nature can be destructed.

In order to remove any evidence of location, elements, which are man-made, have been removed. The unwanted parts of the negative are removed using a scalpel; this created something, which was irreversible, compared to using digital manipulation where you could undo the action to get back to the original.

“It is this irreversibility and the slight idiosyncrasies caused whereby the two negatives meet and overlap that I am interested in; how the areas around the incisions flare up, leaking light and creating certain stains around the edges going beyond the frame.” says Dafna Talmor, who created this piece.

Urban Vistas by Minna Kantonen

Minna Kantonen explores the connection between urban cities and how we design and bring nature to them; how do we compensate the balance of a city and landscape? She describes the trees which are often planted in these kinds of places as “lollipop” trees, because they are often just a stick trunk with a blob of leaves on top, which makes them look like a lollipop. Kantonen believes that cities are all beginning to look the same. Having shot in cities such as Paris, Berlin, Helsinki and London, she says that it is hard to distinguish which city you are in, as they look so similar. She has presented in an even grid form to represent how uniform this is becoming; trees being planted in the same way around these buildings.

Observatory in New York – Minna Pollanen

Pöllänen is well known for creating site-specific pieces, particularly her observatories, in cities such as New York, Montreal and Helsinki. She is often asked to create them in collaboration with other artists and companies.

As well as creating the site-specific piece, Minna Pöllänen also included images from her series “Nature Trail”.

As well as to provide a platform for wider debates around landscape, the show also aims to present a space where thought-provoking discussions can happen. With so many open events for the public to attend, this idea works effectively as when looking at the exhibition and discussing, ideas will bounce from one person to another creating a discussion. The website also plays a key role in the exhibition, as it extends the audience beyond just the physical space of the show. This project has been called #1 as it was a ‘pilot’ for future projects.

With so many sections to one show and so many artists coming together to collaborate, it is hard to feel that each section works perfectly with another. They each have completely focused on different elements within the framework of Landscape, using unique methods to produce their work. By bringing in components such as a site-specific piece, the scope of the exhibition was widened beyond just photography. All being female could be a reason for them choosing to look at landscape and nature.

This is a very thought provoking exhibition and completes the aim which the artists were looking to fulfil.

he start of the discussion:Instagram has ruined photography as an art formby Kristianne DrakeThe app Instagram which allows everyone to post photographs on the internet for the world to see has ruined the art of photography. Now, everyone is a photographer. There are filters that allow the photograph to be transformed from not very good to mediocre imagery that is now celebrated worldwide.

DISCUSS!!!!!

My response:

Instagram is a photography app which allows people to share photographs, which they can edit themselves, with friends and followers . The image below reads

“Capture and Share the World’s Moments

Instagram is a fast, beautiful and fun way to share your life with friends and family.

Take a picture or video, choose a filter to transform its look and feel, then post to Instagram — it’s that easy. You can even share to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and more. It’s a new way to see the world.

Oh yeah, did we mention it’s free?”

Instagram Homepage

Instagram is trying its very best to convince people to download its app on the homepage, with links to download it, free. It allows amateurs to create images which appear professional and appealing, by letting you to add filters and effects to your own images before posting them online. The ‘advert’ has used a large font for the title to catch your interest saying “Capture and Share the World’s Moments”. Memories and moments are something which you like to remember and taking a photograph is the perfect way to remember them. By sharing them online, many people can view them and share that recollection with you.

The main text explains very briefly what the app does, making it seem simple therefore enticing you to create an account. The words “fast”, “beautiful” and “fun” are all highlighted in a bold font because instagram want you to notice those 3 words; they’re convincing and attractive. The power of three is often used in advertising to make something memorable and persuasive.

At the end they just happen to add that the app is free, as if you need one more reason to convince you to download it.

Instagram is one of my personal favourite apps. I have been using it for almost a year now. I find that not only is it a great way to share images with your friends, but also creates very aesthetic images. I take pictures just like any other teen would of their everyday life, from my food to the selfie, I document it all, especially being a photography student. It is also a great way of sharing your professional work. Even if you have taken it on a professional camera, you are still able to post it on Instagram.

Image by Tegan Upton

This photograph was taken on my Samsung Galaxy S III mini camera and edited with instagram. The phone had a very good quality and instagram was, as always, my editing tool. I have recently upgraded to an iPhone and have found the quality of the camera (both front and back cameras) is incredible. I can’t seem to stop taking photographs with it!

Image by Tegan Upton – after editing

Image by Tegan Upton – before editing

This is one of the first image I took using my iPhone (again editing on instagram). Ok, so the framing isn’t brilliant. But the quality of the photograph is incredibly good. I tend to keep my images fairly natural and just emphasise the colours a little. Upon looking at the images together, the edited one does look perhaps a bit over exaggerated, however when I view it on its own it appears more subtle. The filter has emphasised the sunlight shining onto the water and colours in the images, although made the sky slightly pink.

This is the opinion of one of my friends who I asked to tell me what they think about Instagram. They do have an account and post images to it, however not regularly. “It gives people the ability to create ‘aesthetic’ pictures to give the impression of them being good photos. There’s no composition, lighting, developmental skill. All it is is pictures of regular stuff with the natural lighting enhanced shadowing to create dreamy images. There’s no skill or art to them whatsoever.” Although I think he is totally right, I can’t help but want to strongly disagree with him, it gives people to create something beautiful, whether they’re naturally good at it or not.

Zach Sutton says in his article “Using Instagram in the Professional World”, “I think it gives people a cheap alternative to explore photography. It also gives a lot of people a chance to have their voice heard.” Why shouldn’t everyone be given the opportunity to take photographs which look professional? Photography is an expensive business and not everybody is going to be able to afford an expensive camera and editing software. Also, as I said before, it is a great way to share your work (getting your voice heard).

Nick Knights most recent Instagram posts

Nick Knight is a renowned professional photographer who uses his iPhone and Instagram to take images. He compares the iPhone camera to the Hasselblad, saying that it is just as good. Knight talks about how the iPhone and Instagram have given him freedom, as it is not a heavy piece of equipment which he has to lug around with him. “If the image works, then who cares how many pixels it has?”. I have to say I agree with him. Taking an image is about your creativity, feelings and emotions. A masterpiece isn’t always perfect, so why should an image have to be. After all, some of Jackson Pollock’s paintings look as if they could be done by a toddler.

Image my Nick Knight – Cara Delevingne using iPhone

Image by Nick Knight posted on Instagram

He has recently shot a campaign for Diesel with Nicola Formichetti, shot completely on iPhone and used image-manipulation apps to edit them. “It’s a campaign in the most modern guise… “Created purely for the digital community,” explains Formichetti, featuring non-models such as performance artist Mykki Blanco. Fitting then, that Knight chose to shoot the entire campaign using an iPhone and a couple of image-manipulation apps.” – says Laura Bradley in the article ” Nick Knight on the Changing Face of Fashion Photography.” The young generation are now getting information through digital mediums, so Knight believes that by using Instagram for the campaign, it is relevant in this new and exciting time. I love how Knight has chosen to make this change and I hope that he will continue to create his wonderful images using his iPhone, as I think they are just as good as using a Hasselblad.

Diesel Campaign by Nick Knight

Diesel Campaign by Nick Knight

Diesel Campaign by Nick Knight

Instagram is an app which I love and do not feel that it is threatening to professional photographers, as it is unlikely you will become a professional photographer though Instagram, with over 100 million users. It is a way which everyone can share their life and creativity. This quote from Knight explains this perfectly “I don’t have a Twitter account because it’s essentially about writing and my focus has always been visual. Instagram felt like the most appropriate way for me to communicate”.

Unfortunately, our group did not communicate through 0ut the project, despite our efforts to contact them. This meant that myself and Emma (a member of our original group) took it upon ourselves to do the project without the rest of the group.

We began by looking for books on portrait photographers, looking for something similar to the images we had previously looked at. I found an image similar to this, by Richard Avedon. The window was almost a filter, it separated the viewer from the model.

We then began looking for portraits of a person which are more similar to this. We found that the images we liked all tended to have a depressing, sombre feel. Sombre was a word which was frequently repeated when we talked about our work, so we felt it was appropriate to name the show Sombre.

We chose to split the images into two sections; in section one it felt as if we were looking in at the models whereas section two it was as if they were looking out the window. We printed our images on an inkjet printer on lustre paper as this was high quality and we felt that the images deserved this good quality. We placed the name of the photographer, image and date below the image in the left corner.

The writing explaining our exhibition is in the middle of the piece because we wanted it to be noticed as it explains why we put the images together and also splits the images up so that there is not too much to look at. The images were all placed at an average eyeline height as we found it looked more uniform and there was no need for them to be at different heights.

Sombre

Sombre is an exhibition based loosely around the idea of an isolated and lonely yet very narrative portrait. Photographers Jeff Wall, Hannah Starkey, Tom Hunter and Philip Lorca-diCorcia all use narratives in their portraits to portray a lonely story.

Throughout the show each selected photograph depicts an isolated person or couple with very subtle lighting in a very secluded settings, either their ‘own’ home or somewhere with limited access like a female bathroom. As a reader of the show, Sombre wants you to feel as though you are looking in on each situation and this is helped by the camera angle in each photograph as each and every one does not feel invasive, more like it is peering onto the situation through a door or window, yet it still feels as if you were there.

Each of the chosen photographers are well known for their staged portraits which is something Sombre was looking for as it is about how someone who is just acting can get across to the reader those feelings of isolation and the sombre mood, whilst making it feel very realistic for each photograph.

First, photographer Jeff Wall, his portrait ‘Picture for Women 1979’ gives off the impression of isolation in the woman even though she is accompanied. The male character makes her seem as though she is being threatened, her facial expression tells us something is not right yet we are left guessing.

Third, Tom Hunter and his photograph ‘Woman Reading Possession Order’. Hunter used Baroque style paintings to influence a lot of his photographs using the narratives behind them to almost recreate them to move them into a more modern era. For this photograph, Hunter used Vermeer’s painting ‘Girl Reading Letter’ to stage his portrait.

Finally, Hannah Starkey, who we have selected three images from her Untitled works. Each of these photographs is staged and all have a very low feeling coming from them.

Sombre Exhibition By Emma Pinchen and Tegan Upton

Images: (left to right)

1. Hannah Starkey – Untitled, March 1999

2. Philip Lorca-diCorcia – Mario, 1978

3. Jeff Wall – Picture for Women, 1979

4. Hannah Starkey – Untitled, January 2001

5. Tom Hunter – Woman Reading Possession Order, 1998

6. Hannah Starkey – Untitled, October 1998

Hannah Starkey – Untitled, March 1999

Philip Lorca diCorcia – Mario, 1978

Hannah Starkey – Untitled, January 2001

Jeff Wall – Picture for Women, 1979

Hannah Starkey – Untitled, October 1998

Tom Hunter – Woman Reading Possession Order, 1998

Feedback

Unfortunately, we did not read the brief correctly, as the images should have been from the previous 10 years and we did not do this. However, our tutors felt that the images did fit together well and were given the quality they deserved with the printing.

Our tutors thought that it would have been a better idea to put the numbers below the image and perhaps have a corresponding list separately, further below the images. I have to agree that the way we presented it with the details was perhaps not very professional.

I have a much better understanding of how to curate a show now and enjoyed the challenge of creating a show from scratch.

Darren Almond created the work for the show “To Leave a Light Impression” at the White Cube, Bermondsey. Over 13 years, Almond has taken images across every continent, to create a series called ‘Fullmoon’. All images were taken on a long exposure and under the light of a full moon, so that details which are undetectable to the human eye can be revealed.

Image from White Cube Gallery Website

The image does not even to begin to give you an idea of how large these images are and how big the space is. The huge scale of the beautiful images are just breathtakingly mesmerizing. Because the space is so big and white, your attention is instantly drawn to the images as there is nothing to distract you from them.

“Darren Almond stands before nature, between man and nature, between man and space, between life and death, and looks at the sad beauty of everything that is reflected through the lens of his camera. Almond slowly finds his way into the core of the earth and into the total mountain to directly stare into all that has been of this world throughout millennia.” – Aesthetica Magazine.

There are six pairs of bronze sculptures in the centre of the exhibition, filled with lead. Each one represents an astronaut who walked on the moon and weighs the comparative weight of them and has the astronaut’s initials engraved on it to identify them. These contrast with the images because they are so much smaller; these become ‘standing stones’ which show the sculptural connection between man and moon. This is a way of mapping both visible and invisible spaces.

I wish I could have spent longer gawping at these striking images, as there is so much detail t0 them, with the large scale they are printed at it is impossible to see it in a short time. I would have like to take my own images but unfortunately the gallery did not allow us to. I would thoroughly recommend this show if you are looking for something spectacular to look at with a good back story to it.

Our trip to London consisted of visiting four galleries; Guest Projects, Roman Road, Laura Bartlett Gallery and White Cube. I had never previously visited any of these so was looking forward to exploring new locations.

Image by Peter Donnelly

I was really pleased and excited that we would have either the artist or curator talking to us about the work exhibited at each of the galleries because you do not get that opportunity on a normal outing to a gallery. They talk about the work in such detail with so much passion that you leave knowing everything and more about the show.

We began our trip by visiting the On Landscape Project at Guest Projects. This show was a collaboration between Minna Kantonen, Dafna Talmor and Emma Wieslander, with Minna Pöllänen brought in to create a site specific piece. All being female curators gives the exhibition a sense of fragility and femininity. The aim of the show was to challenge the traditional representation of landscape. Three of the four artists were there to talk to us about their work, how it was created and why. Each artists work had its own separate section. The fact that they were all in one room but separate shows how they can work on their own but together they are one and work together strongly.

“A central element of the exhibition consists of an open call for self-published, handmade or short run books relating to the exhibition framework. The publications, on display throughout the exhibition, aim to provide a platform for wider debates around landscape whilst presenting an opportunity for a wide range of practitioners to showcase their work.” Work was chosen by Lucy Soutter with Martin Barnes, Miranda Gavin and Sue Steward.

Image by Dafna Talmor

I particularly enjoyed the images created by Dafna Talmor, as they were so innovative. They had been constructed by layering negatives and using a scalpel to remove areas of the image. This resulted in “photographs create a space that defies specificity, refers to the transient and metaphorically blurs place, memory and time.”